


Todd is a Coldwaugh

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Series: Coldwaugh Family Antics [1]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Family, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 07:43:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14052210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Todd isn't from Earth. He came to this realm, to Brakebills specifically, to learn more about the world of his great-grandfathers.He wasn't expecting to meet the men themselves.





	Todd is a Coldwaugh

**Author's Note:**

> This little plot bunny wouldn't go away until I wrote it 
> 
> I have fully accepted this headcanon as fact and no one will convince me otherwise
> 
> ALSO I cannot remember who came up with Coldwaugh as the kids last name but if someone could remind me i'd like to credit them because i think it's genius

Todd lurked in the background. 

He’d been hanging around this motley crew for a few months now and he was treading a fine line between being a part of the group and being a complete stranger. He knew that they didn’t particularly like him but he sort of appreciated that they humored him, especially now that Brakebills was closed and he had nowhere else to go. 

He’d started getting close to them when he heard about Eliot Waugh and Margo Hanson. He knew those names. Eliot Waugh was his great-grandfather’s name; he’d been listening to stories about the man for as long as he could remember. And some of those stories included a woman named Margo. His grandfather Rupert had never met Margo but his father had told him countless stories about her so when Rupert told his children and grandchildren about his father, his stories inevitably included Margo as well. 

Todd had come to Brakebills in large part because he was descended from Children of Earth and he wanted to know more about them. But the stories he’d heard from his grandfather about about his fathers’ home didn’t come close to preparing him for the reality of this realm. It had been overwhelming. Magic had been a fact of life for him since he was born and suddenly he was around people who were only just now learning that it existed, let alone how to use it. When he left Brakebills he had to be extra careful not to talk about it because normal humans didn’t know that magic was real. They thought it was a myth.

That wasn’t the only thing they thought was a myth, Todd thought bitterly. One of the worst surprises had come when he found out that people on Earth thought of Fillory as a mystical land in a children’s book. 

Todd tuned back into the conversation going on around him. They were arguing about the key quest again. This was the first time in a long while that Eliot and Margo had come to Earth for more than a minute (and he wasn’t bitter that they could travel between realms seemingly at will; he wasn’t) and everyone had been catching each other up. He knew that Eliot and Margo had been deposed in Fillory. That Quentin, Josh, and Alice had retrieved the fifth key. That Kady was still out looking for a way to get Penny out of the Underworld Library (they assumed). And that Julia had learned of the sixth key’s location, but wouldn’t tell anyone. The others were trying to get her to tell them but she kept refusing. Todd tuned back out. He doubted any of them even realized he was in the room.

He’d also learned that Fray wasn’t Eliot and Fen’s daughter. She was just a part of the Fairy Queen’s scheme to control them. He had to admit - he was disappointed. He’d liked Fray. He’d thought it was a little weird since she was technically his great-aunt but he’d liked her. He’d had fun showing his great-aunt and step great-grandmother around New York City. It was the singular strangest bonding experience of his life. Made more so by the fact that they had no idea who he was. 

Todd was startled out of his thoughts when he heard someone say the word mosaic. He stood up from where he had been lounging on the stairs. “What did you just say?” He looked around the room, unsure of who had spoken. 

His sudden movement and comment had shocked the room into silence. It was clear on everyone’s faces that they had in fact forgotten that he was there. “Whoever just spoke, repeat what you said.” He told the room at large. 

The others looked at each other before Alice spoke up. “Repeat what exactly?” She seemed a bit confused.

Todd was getting frustrated. He’d been lurking around these people for over a year just waiting for a sign that they might remember and this was the first glimmer of hope he had had that they might. “What were you just talking about?”

Quentin looked at the others and then back at Todd. He looked concerned. Todd knew he was acting odd but he didn’t care. He wanted to know if they remembered. “We were just talking about the keys.” Quentin finally answered him.

“What about them?” Todd quickly asked. He could see Julia step forward and reach out to him but he sidestepped her and glared at Quentin. “What about them?”

“We were just mentioning where we had gotten each of them.” Julia said. Now Todd turned to her. “And where was that?”

“Why are you suddenly so interested in the keys?” Margo inquired. “You seem mighty keen all of a sudden and I don’t like it.”

Todd looked at her. “I don’t care about the quest. I just want to know what you were saying.” He turned back to Julia. She seemed the most likely to answer him. “Julia? What were you saying about where the keys came from?”

She looked at him. The others tried to caution her but she seemed to find something in his eyes that made her answer. “Eliot found the first one on a quest in Fillory, we found the second one here at Brakebills, Quentin and Eliot apparently found the third one by solving a mosaic-“ Todd cut her off and turned to the two men in question.

“You solved the mosaic?” Quentin and Eliot looked at each other but didn’t respond right away. Margo huffed. “It was an alternate reality. They went back in time and got it but they died in the past so I stopped them from going back in the first place. So we got the key but they never actually went to get it.” She glared at him. “Are you done now? Can we get back to business?” She didn’t wait for him to respond before she turned her attention back to Julia. 

But Todd wasn’t listening to Margo. He was watching Quentin and Eliot. They were still looking at each other. It was odd. It wasn’t like they normally did. This look was something more. It was like they were having an entire conversation without uttering a single word. 

He crossed the room until he was practically standing between them. He heard Margo cut off what she had started to say to Julia. Quentin and Eliot turned to look at him and he could feel the stares of the women in the room as well. 

“You solved the mosaic?” He asked them again. He looked between them, waiting for one of them to answer. 

“Uh yeah.” Quentin finally offered. “But like Margo said it’s kind of complicated. Time loops and all that. We went back in time but then we didn’t but the result was a fixed point so it was kind of like we did even though we…didn’t.” He trailed off. He was looking around like he wanted people to understand even though he knew what he was saying didn’t make much sense. 

“But do you remember doing it?” He was practically in their faces and both Eliot and Quentin looked on edge. Todd knew he was acting even stranger now. But this might be the moment that he had been waiting for. This might finally be the time when he could be honest. “Come on it’s a simple question. Do you remember solving the mosaic?” 

“I told you. They never actually did it.” He heard Margo say from behind him. 

Todd ignored her. He kept his gaze on the two men in front of him. When neither answered he raised his eyebrows imploringly. Finally both men nodded. 

Todd let out a huge sigh of relief. He put his hands on his hips and hung his head. He felt a smile work its way across his face and he looked back at his great-grandfathers. This was the moment. He finally had confirmation that they were who he had thought they were. 

Eliot and Quentin stared at him. Todd chuckled softly. He knew an explanation was in order. 

“I was born in Fillory. I came to Brakebills because I am descended from Children of Earth and I wanted to learn more about this realm.” They looked confused. “My grandfather was Rupert Coldwaugh.” 

The room was silent. Then everyone started speaking at once.

“Ok? Why the fuck do we care?” He heard Margo say. 

“How can you be at Brakebills if you’re from Fillory?” Alice asked. 

“If you’re descended from Children of Earth then you must be related to the Chatwins, right?” Fen exclaimed. “You’re rightfully the king of Fillory.”

Softly, after the other three had spoken, he heard Julia. “Coldwaugh?”

Todd ignored all of them. He kept his attention on his great-grandfathers. Both men looked slightly ill. “Uh guys? You ok?” He stepped closer cautiously. 

Eliot flinched away from him. It was tiny but it was enough for Todd to freeze. He hadn’t wanted to upset them but the relief at finally being able to talk to them about it was overwhelming. His great-grandfathers finally knew he was their great-grandson. 

Todd pulled his hand back. “Eliot? Quentin? Are you okay? I didn’t mean to upset you but”

“Not upset. Not-“ Quentin said suddenly and ran a hand through his hair. “Just surprised. Very fucking surprised. I want to ask if you’re fucking with us but there’s no way you could know that name unless you were serious and I just-I don’t know how to feel about this right now.” He started pacing. Eliot hadn’t moved. 

Todd wasn’t sure what to do. He hadn’t actually thought this far ahead. He had always sort of assumed that once they did the mosaic, then he could tell them who he was and that would be that. But this. This was not what he’d expected. 

He heard someone moving behind him. It was only now that he realized that the women in the room had fallen silent and were just watching them. Margo came up on his right. “El? Hon? You ok?” She laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke softly. “What’s going on?” When he didn’t answer she turned to glare at Todd. “What is going on?” Her voice was much harder.

Meanwhile, Julia walked over and stood next to Quentin. She didn’t try to touch him or stop him from pacing. “Q?” She asked quietly. “Who is Rupert Coldwaugh?” 

Todd didn’t answer Margo’s question. Instead, he focused on Quentin. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eliot turn towards the other man. Margo kept her gaze fixed on Todd. 

“Rupert was-“ Quentin let out a bitter laugh. “Um-Rupert was our son.” He stopped pacing and looked at Julia. 

“Your son?” It sounded like it came from everyone in the room. Margo finally tore her eyes away from Todd to stare at Quentin. Julia, however, didn’t look as surprised. She just reached out and grasped Q’s hand gently. “You named your son Rupert?” She quirked her lips in a smile.

Quentin laughed. “I know. I know. Eliot gave me shit for it for years.” He turned to look at the man. Eliot was gripping the arms of his chair. He still hadn’t said a word. Quentin rushed over and kneeled next to him. 

“El?” Quentin was obviously concerned. Todd was too; he understood this being a shock but Eliot’s reaction scared him. “What is it?”

“I knew.” Eliot forced out. Todd reared back in surprise. How?

“How?” Quentin echoed Todd’s thoughts.

“Mack’s son was named Todd.” Eliot said. 

Quentin nodded. “I know. That’s why I believe him but how did you know?” Todd looked at both of them in shock. He didn’t have any memories of these men.

“Wait you knew me?” He interjected.

Quentin turned around and looked at him for the first time since the revelation. “Yes. You were about two years old the last time Mack visited us. Amelie was pregnant. We um- we never heard news of the baby but we met you and your brother Thom a few times.” 

“Therie.” Todd said numbly. Eliot looked up at him quizzically. “My sister. She’s about three years younger than me.”

“Ok. Someone want to start explaining?” Margo cut in. “What’s this about Coldwater having a kid?”

Todd started to explain but Quentin beat him to it. He was shaking his head. “Not me. Us. Me and Eliot. We had a son. His name was Rupert.”

This didn’t seem to help matters. Julia stayed quiet by the window but Todd could hear Fen and Alice behind him whispering between the two of them. He was thankful that they were staying out of this for the most part. There were already enough people involved in his family reunion. Margo squeezed the hand she had on Eliot’s shoulder. “Since when did you have a kid? With Coldwater no less?”

Eliot looked up at her and then back at Todd before his eyes settled on Quentin. There was a long moment before he said anything. “When we did the mosaic. You stopped us from going back in time but we had already done it. I mean if we hadn’t, you never would have gotten the key in the first place. So our going back and completing the mosaic was a fixed point in time. And once we returned to Fillory we regained all of our memories of it.” He reached out with both hands. One found Margo’s on his shoulder and the other found Q. “The quest was to make a mosaic that reflected the beauty of all life. Turns out the key was to live our lives completing it and once one of us died, the missing piece was revealed. And we did that. We lived our lives there. Quentin met a girl. They got married and they had a son.”

“He was all of our son.” Quentin cut in. Eliot just smiled at him and nodded before continuing. “And we lived out our lives. And I died a very old man.” He stopped here. 

Margo opened her mouth but Eliot continued before he could get a word out. “The first time I saw Todd after it happened, after we remembered, all I could think was that he looked like Mack. And later I remembered that Mack had had a son named Todd. And I thought that I was going crazy. That it was too ludicrous an idea but now you’re telling me that I’m not crazy. That you actually are Mack’s son. Which makes you mine and Q’s great-grandson.” Todd could only nod. “This is just a little much to wrap my head around.” He leaned back in his chair.

Quentin, meanwhile, stood up. He took a couple of steps towards Todd and made an aborted arm motion towards him. “Can I- I mean if-“ He stopped and squeezed his eyes shut. 

“Q?” Julia asked quietly. She stepped towards him with a hand outstretched. He half-turned towards her and waved her off. She stopped a few steps away and Quentin turned his attention back to Todd. He took a deep breath as if steeling himself.

“I don’t know what the proper protocol for this is but you’re Rupert’s grandson. And I kind of want to give you a hug. Is that ok? Or is that weird since we’re the same age? Or-“ Todd closed the distance and wrapped his arms around him. He felt Quentin’s arms come up around and squeeze him tight. It was a little weird, true, but this man was family (he was his Granddaddy, Todd thought absently). His age didn’t really matter to him. They held the embrace for a few moments and then Todd stepped back. To his surprise, he found that Eliot had stood up and come to join them while they hugged. He held his arms out a little and Todd smiled before stepping into his embrace as well. 

When he stepped back from his great-grandfather (Papa El, his mind supplied), the three of them stood in a little circle just looking at each other. The rest of the room was quiet, just letting them have this moment. After a beat, Todd started to laugh. 

“Just wait until Mom and Dad hear about this.”

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like Quentin would need to talk to someone about what happened on the mosaic quest and of course he would talk to Julia so she knows some of what happened like him and Eliot having a son but he hadn't told her everything so his name was still a surprise
> 
> On the flip side I feel like Eliot and Margo have had so much shit to deal with that they really haven't had much time to just talk and if they did have a moment's rest, the mosaic and that life might not be Eliot's first choice of conversation so it wasn't like Eliot was keeping it from Margo because honestly I don't think he keeps anything from her it's just that it really hasn't come up yet. They are busy people


End file.
